Twists and Turns
by SarahandBabees
Summary: Based on a dream I had. All of the VA characters, only my friends, family and I are characters. Life is full of twists and turns, and choices. When we travel to Canada to visit family, my life will change forever. Told in my point of view. Give it a try?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay, so here's my new story. Please give it a chance, it gets pretty good. This is just the prologue, and if I get five reviews, I'll post the first chapter, which I already have written. I really hope that you guys will like it, it's all based on a dream that I had one night.**

_**Prologue**_

Life is pretty great. I should know. Between best friends, my boyfriend and being a kick-ass guardian, life is working out pretty well for me. But, they say that all good things come to an end.

Now, a bit about me: I'm a dhampir, a half human, half vampire. I'm eighteen, a recent graduate of St. Vladimir's Academy, a school for Moroi and dhampirs in backwoods Montana. One of my best friends Rose and I are another best friend's guardians, the guardians of Princess Vasilisa Dragomir. Or as we like to call her, Lissa. She's royal, the last of her line. We protect her from the Strigoi, which are evil, undead vampires. They, unlike Moroi, kill the person they feed off. Moroi get their daily source of blood from feeders, humans who willingly give themselves to the Moroi society, and are essentially vampire bite addicts. Strigoi drink from humans, dhampirs, ad Moroi. Human blood sustains them, dhampir blood makes them marginally stronger, but Moroi blood is what they really crave. Moroi blood makes them extremely strong.

All Moroi wield one of five elements; fire, water, air, earth, and the recently discovered spirit. That's Lissa's element, as well as Adrian's, who is another friend of mine. Lissa's boyfriend, Christian Ozera, wields fire. He's pretty badass with it, and helped Rose in a recent Strigoi attack on the school.

In case any of you were wondering, my name is Sarah Oldfield, and I'm the oldest in my family, who are all human. My little brothers are clueless as to what I am, and my mom wants to shield them from this world. Hey, I said life was great, but I never said that it was easy.

**Okay, good? Bad? So-so? Please review and tell me what you think!**

**Random: OMG, I'm learning Russian! Dimitri inspired me to do it, so I'm getting pretty good :D It's actually really easy once you get the hang of reading the alphabet.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I know I said that I wanted five reviews, but I really wanted to get this chapter posted. I really hope you guys like it :) I wanna get to maybe, I dunno, ten reviews? I really appreciate everything that you guys have to say to me, whether it's good or bad.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the VA characters, I only own the dream on which this story is based on.**

-Sarah

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_**Chapter One: Leaving**_

"Come on guys! We're gonna miss our flight!" I shouted. "Seriously, are Nat and I the only ones who know how to hurry around here?" I looked to my best friend in the entire world, Natalee Armstrong. She was tall, probably 5'10". She had straight bright red hair that fell to her collarbone, and her skin was unusually pale for a dhampir. She had her nose and eyebrow pierced, as well as her ears four times. She had hazel eyes and an oval shaped face.

"We should probably go help them finish packing." Nat said quietly.

"Yeah, go find Eddie and help him. I'll deal with Mason." Nat nodded in agreement, and we both set out to help our boyfriends.

I walked into Mason's room, only to find him laying on his bed with absolutely _nothing_ packed. When he heard his door open, he shot up into a sitting position. I gave him the death glare.

"Mason," I spoke quietly, in a deathly cold voice, "what the hell is wrong with you? Our flight leaves in an hour! Why don't you have anything packed yet?"

He looked scared. "I . . . uhhh . . . I fell asleep?"

"Do you even want to go to Canada to meet my family?"

"Of course I do! I'm really sorry for not packing sooner, Sar." he looked so . . . sad, apologetic. I couldn't be mad at him. I walked over and pecked him on the lips.

"It's okay, Mase. Now come on, let's get your suitcase packed."

We got to work, throwing two weeks worth of clothing in a large suitcase. We were going to mine and Natalee's hometown, Saint John, New Brunswick. We hadn't been able to get home since two years ago, so we were extremely excited. We were bringing all of our friends with us, so that they could meet our families. They were going to meet us at the airport.

Once Mason was all packed and ready, we went to check on Nat and Eddie.

I knocked on Eddie's bedroom door.

"Come in." he called.

When we walked in, Nat was sitting on his suitcase while he tried to zipper it up.

"Dear God, Eddie. What the hell do you have in there?" I asked.

"Well, I have normal clothes, nice clothes, and workout clothes."

"Dude, I'm a girl and you have almost as much stuff as me!"

"Okay, enough about how much Eddie packed. The plane leaves in twenty minutes, and the others are probably wondering where we are." Nat said. We all nodded and made our way to Adrian's private jet. I guess it pays off to be the Queen's great-nephew.

The first people I saw were Rose and Lissa.

"There you are! What took you guys so long?" Rose asked. "We've been waiting for half an hour!" Nat and I pointed to Eddie and Mason, and Rose and Lissa laughed.

"Well come on, we're allowed to board the plane." Lissa stated.

"Okay, and since you two," I pointed to the guys, "kept us waiting, you can take our suitcases."

They sighed, but grabbed our suitcases. Nat, Rose, Lissa and I took off running to the plane. We faintly heard Eddie and Mason grumbling, but we didn't care.

When we walked on to the plane, we were greeted by Adrian.

"Hey cousin, little dhampir, Red, Oldilocks." Oh God, I hated that nickname. It was given to me in elementary school, and I've tried so hard to get rid of it.

I glared at him. "Call me Oldilocks one more time, and you won't be able to have any children."

He looked terrified. With a slightly shaky voice, he asked, "Fine. What would you like me to call you?"

"Oh, I dunno. Maybe Sarah, Say, Sar . . . any of those work, you know."

"Hmmmmm . . . how about Blondie?"

I rolled my eyes. Kira, another friend of mine and Adrian's girlfriend, smacked him on the head.

"Ouch! Damn, what was that for?" he asked, rubbing his head in the spot where she hit him.

"Leave Sarah alone, Adrian. Stop being an ass." Kira replied.

"Thanks, Kira. At least someone can put him in his place." I said.

"No problem, Say. I don't mind." she smiled warmly.

"So, is everyone excited to meet mine and Natalee's families?" I asked.

"I'm just excited to dig up some dirt on you guys from your siblings." Christian replied with a smirk.

Natalee and I flipped him off at the same time. "Now, you guys need to be really careful with what you say and do around my little brothers. They know nothing about our world. My family is all human." I explained.

Everyone but Natalee and Mason (who had just boarded the plane with Eddie) looked shocked. They were the only ones who knew about my family.

"Wow. It must be horrible to have all that secrecy in your house." Dimitri commented. Heads bobbed in agreement.

"It does, but last time I saw them, they were still too young to understand. If mom lets me, I'm gonna explain everything to them this time. After all, they are ten now."

Natalee spoke after me. "Don't worry about my family, they're all dhampirs. I have two younger sisters, Ashlee who is twelve, and Emilee who is six."

"I can't wait to meet everyone!" Lissa squealed. "Do you think they'll like me?" she asked, looking slightly worried.

"I'm sure that they'll like all of you, well, other than Adrian and Christian." I replied with a smirk. Everyone, other than Adrian and Christian, burst out laughing.

"Ha ha. You're so funny." Adrian said dryly.

"Yeah. I can hardly contain my laughter." Christian added. This made everyone laugh even more.

A voice on the PA system shut us all up. "Ladies and Gentlemen, please be seated. Buckle your seatbelts, the plane will be taking off shortly. Thank you."

We all did as we were asked. I sat next to Mason, Nat and Eddie sat across from us, Rose and Dimitri sat in front of us, Lissa and Christian sat in front of Nat and Eddie, and Adrian and Kira sat behind us.

"So how many of you have ever been to Canada?" Nat asked. Adrian and Kira raised their hands.

"Where in Canada?" I asked.

"Well, my parents moved to Montreal a few years ago." Kira replied.

I turned to Adrian. "What about you?"

"I've been to Aunt Tatiana's cabin in the Rocky Mountains."

"That's cool." Nat replied.

"Hey Mase." Rose called.

"Yeah?"

"What were you saying about vicious Canadian geese?"

Mason turned to me. "Canadian geese are vicious little bastards, aren't they?"

"Not really. Only to us dhampirs, because all animals hate us. By the way, my mom and brothers have three dogs and a cat."

"Really?" Lissa asked. I nodded. "What are their names?"

"Slader is Alex's dog, Ollie is Nic's dog, Sadie is my dog and Babees is the family cat."

"You have a dog?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Doesn't she hate you because you're a dhampir?"

"She doesn't really mind dhampirs, just as long as they're nice to her."

"Then I guess she'll hate Rose." Christian piped up.

"Nat," Rose began, "will you please smack him for me?"

"Hell yeah!" and with that, she hit the top of his head.

"OW! Wow Nat, I never knew that you were capable of being mean!" he said. "I guess you've been around Rose and Sarah for too long." this time, Lissa smacked him. He gave her a look that said 'WTF!'

She shrugged. "Rose and Sarah are wonderful people."

"Aww! Thanks Liss!" Rose and I said in unison. Then we high fived. We were definitely the most badass of the group. We were the only ones-other than Dimitri-that had _molnija _marks. Apparantly Lissa was a hot commodity in the Strigoi world, seeing as she was the last Dragomir. As her guardians, Rose and I were constantly fighting Strigoi.

The plane fell into silence. I spoke quietly to Mason.

"So Mase, are you excited to meet my family?"

"Of course! I hope your dog likes me . . ."

I burst out laughing. "Of all the things you could be worried about, it's whether Sadie will like you or not?"

"Yeah! I've always liked dogs, so I hope that at least one on this planet will like me." he admitted.

"Aww! Mase, that's so cute!" I said, ruffling his hair.

"Hey! Don't mess with the hair!" he swatted my hand away, then ruffled my blonde and brown locks.

"Oh, it's on, Mr. Ginger!"

"I'm not afraid of you, Shortie!"

"Hey, not cool! No making fun of my height!" Yes, I'm eighteen and only 5'6". It was a sore spot for me.

"I'm sorry, Sar." Sar was his favorite nickname for me.

"It's okay, Mase. I forgive you."

He sighed with relief. He knew how temperamental I could be.

We lapsed into silence, and I gazed deeply into his crystalline blue eyes. I could drown in those eyes. I hated mine; they were a chocolatey brown color. I'd always wanted green eyes, like Lissa or Adrian. Mason always told me that my eyes were beautiful and that he loved them, but I don't know what he was thinking. I found it hard to believe. If my eyes were green, or even hazel like Nat's, I'd absolutely love them. They were big, and I had naturally long and dark eyelashes. They'd be perfect if they weren't brown.

Suddenly, I yawned hugely. Mason chuckled, and opened his arms for me. I snuggled up to him, my head resting on his chest.

"Go to sleep, Sar. I'll wake you up in three hours when it's time to land, okay?" I nodded obligingly and closed my eyes, falling into a comfortable and dreamless sleep.

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**So, how was it? Tell me what you thought, it really helps to know what you guys think. I hope you guys stick with me with all of my crazy ideas :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Okay, I'm a little frustrated with this. I only got one review for chapter one, and if I don't get more reviews, as much as I really don't want to, I'm going to stop with this story. I've already written to chapter six, and chapter four is really good. It's where the really big thing in this story happens. I don't want to give anything away, but I will say one thing: In chapter four, there's a Strigoi attack. So please, if you want to see how it turns out, review and tell me your thoughts. It's really discouraging to not get reviews :(**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of VA, just myself and my friends.**

_**Chapter Two: Just like old times**_

Some time later, I was shaken awake by Mason. I slowly opened my eyes to glare at him.

"Wakey wakey Sleeping Beauty. We're landing in fifteen minutes."

My mood instantly brightened. "We're here?" I asked, a grin quickly creeping on to my face.

Mason was beaming. "Yeah babe, we're here."

I looked over to Nat who was smiling like an idiot.

"OMG Say I'm sooo freakin' excited!" she squealed.

"OMG me too! I can't wait to terrorize my nerdy little brothers!"

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we will be landing in five minutes. I hope that you've all had a great flight." the pilot announced over the PA system.

I was so excited that I was bouncing in my seat. I felt like a little kid on Christmas morning, or a fat person at an all you can eat buffet. Mason was laughing at me, but I was too happy to glare at him.

I swear to God, that was the longest five minutes of my life! I looked out the plane window when we landed, and saw the familiar sights of the Saint John Airport.

As soon as we could, Nat and I jumped off the plane and ran inside to where our moms waited.

As soon as my mom saw me, she freaked.

"SARAH!" she yelled.

"MOM!"

Natalee got there soon after I did. I only got there first because I'm faster than she is. We ran into the waiting arms of our mothers. My mom began to sob into my chest.

"I'm guessing you missed me?" I asked. At that point, all of our friends caught up with us, Mason and Eddie lugging our luggage again.

"So much. Your brothers missed you too, believe it or not."

I motioned for Mason to come over. "Mom, this is my boyfriend Mason. Mason, this is my mom, Robin."

"Hi Robin. It's so nice to finally meet Sarah's mom." Mason said, shaking her hand, but mom wasn't going to take that. She pulled him into a hug.

"Welcome to the family, Mason. It's so nice to meet you. Sarah is always talking about you on the phone."

When they separated, I introduced everyone else. "Mom, these are my friends. There's Rose, Dimitri, Lissa, my charge, Adrian, Kira, Christian, and Eddie. Eddie is Nat's boyfriend, Christian is Lissa's, Dimitri is Rose's, and Adrian is Kira's."

There was a mix of hello's, hi's and hey's.

"So, we're going to the Frosty Lodge and then everyone is coming to our house for a bit. Okay?" Mom asked.

I looked at all of my friends. They nodded. "Sure, mom." I replied. We grabbed our bags and stuffed ourselves into separate vans. We headed to the Frosty Lodge, which was an ice cream place near the airport. It was awesome there; they soft serve ice cream and a topping bar with every topping imaginable. I was pretty much addicted to it.

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When we arrived, I grabbed a large dish and got chocolate and vanilla swirl soft serve. I walked over to the topping bar and put oreo crumbs and chocolate sprinkles on it. I then grabbed a spoon and stirred it all up, and had the perfect chocolatey creation. It was like heaven, in the form of ice cream. So good. We all left, happy and filled with ice cream.

We pulled up to my house a half hour later. It still looked the same; two-story, rid siding, giant bay windows, a view of the Reversing Falls, a little garden filled with flowers-my mom is a florist-, a little stone walkway, a perfectly manicured lawn, with a few new additions, like a trampoline and a pool in the back yard. We were pretty well off, because of my father. Sure, he's never been around and he's a royal idiot, but at least he didn't leave us with nothing. He made sure that we had plenty of money to live off.

Before I could walk in the door, it burst open and I was tackled by my little brothers.

"Sarah! You're home!" they yelled.

"Hello to you too, clones." that was my nickname for them, since they were identical twins.

"Well Sarah, aren't you going to introduce us?" Christian asked.

"Nic, Alex, these are my friends, Lissa, Rose, Kira, Adrian, Dimitri, Christian and Eddie." then I pointed to Mason. "This is my boyfriend, Mason."

"Hey guys." Mason said.

"Hey, Mason. Hey everyone else." they said in unison. Then they got off of me and tackled Nat.

"Nat-Nat!" they shouted. She laughed.

"Hey Brat #1 and Brat #2. How are you guys?"

"We're good. Let's go inside!"

"Yeah, come on. I'll show the people who are staying here where they'll be sleeping." they all nodded, and we headed inside, only to have the crap scared out of me.

"Surprise!" Wow. My mom had gathered all of our family and friends!

My hand flew to my heart. "God! You people scared the living shit out of me! That was so not cool!" Then I spotted my SJ friends. They were all Moroi and dhampir, which was awesome. There was Teagan, a tall dark-haired dhampir. Her hair fell to about mid-back, she was weirdly pale and she had hazel eyes. Next there was Meaghan, a average sized dhampir with dark brown hair that fell just belox her shoulders. She had big brown eyes and a tan. Lastly, there was Miranda. She was tall, thin and pale like most Moroi, with long light brown hair and brown eyes. Teagan spoke first.

"OMG Sanana and Naarly it's been so long! How are you guys?" Yeah, she's a bit of a weirdo. Sanana and Naarly are the nicknames that she gave to Nat and I when we were younger. Whatever. We're weird too.

"Hey Tee-tee! I've missed you soooo much! We've been good, you?"

"Oh, good. I'm Miranda's guardian!" Miranda is a Badica, a royal Moroi. She stepped forward, and I hugged her.

"Hey Mandy! Who's your other guardian?" Since she's a royal Moroi, she has to have two guardians, which is highly unfair to the non-royals.

"Meaghan is! Everything worked out great for us!" Meaghan stepped forward to hug me.

"Meggie Moo!" I squealed.

"Say Pumkin!"

I waved Kira, Rose and Liss forward. Nat hugged Miranda, Teagan and Meaghan while I introduced the others. "Lissa, Rose, Kira, meet Teagan, Meaghan and Miranda."

"Lissa as in Princess Dragomir?"

"Yeah, that's me. No need to be formal, just call me Lissa." Meaghan and the others nodded.

"So, are you guys dating anyone?" Teagan asked. We didn't answer, we just waved the guys over.

"Girls, this is my boyfriend, Mason Ashford." Mason shook their hands.

"This is my boyfriend, Eddie Castile." Nat said.

Kira spoke next. "This is my pain in the ass, Adrian Ivashkov."

Then Lissa. "This is my smartass, Christian Ozera."

Lastly, was Rose. "This is my sexy man, Dimitri Belikov."

"Boys, these are my friends Teagan Johnson, Meaghan Lawlor and Miranda Badica." Nat said.

"Charmed." Adrian said, stepping forward to kiss their hands.

Dimitri spoke next. "It's very nice to meet you, Guardian Johnson, Guardian Lawlor and Lady Badica."

"Comrade! Loosen up! Stop acting like you've got a stick up your ass!" Rose whined, smacking her face with her hand.

"Yeah, Dimitri. Please call us by our first names." Miranda said. Dimitri nodded.

"Please to meet you guys. I'm surprised that Sarah and Natalee even have friends." Christian smirked.

"Ozera, shut your face or else." I warned him.

"Oooh! I'm so scared. I'm shaking in my boots!" he replied, small flames dancing across his palm. I smacked his hand, and the flames disappeared.

"Careful, you idiot! There's humans here!" I chastised him.

"Sorry. I forgot."

"It's okay, just don't let it happen again."

There was an awkward silence, until Miranda broke it. "So, what are your specialisations?"

"Well, fire, as you just saw." Christian replied.

"Adrian and I specialised in spirit." Lissa answered.

"So it's actually real?" Teagan asked. Lissa nodded.

"I can walk dreams and see auras, and Lissa can heal and see auras. I can heal a bit too, but I'm nowhere near as good as Lissa." Adrian explained.

"Heal?" Meaghan asked.

I looked at Lissa. "Should we demonstrate?"

She nodded. "Sure." With that, I ran to the kitchen and grabbed a knife.

"Ready?" I asked. Lissa nodded. I pressed the knife to my arm and sliced it. Crimson blood began to seep out, and everyone gasped. It hurt like hell, but I wasn't about to let everyone know that. I kept my expression neutral. Lissa reached her hand out to touch my skin, and the moment her hand came in contact with my skin, her eyes closed and I felt the hot/cold sensation that indicated that the healing was working. Meaghan, Teagan and Miranda stared at us in wonder. The gash closed up, and the blood stopped. Lissa pulled her hand back, looking happy and satisfied with herself. Rose, however, was different. Her expression grew dark, and she shot me a murderous glare. Shit! I forgot abou her absorbing Lissa's darkness! She lurched forward, but was stopped by Dimitri. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist.

I looked at Dimitri. "Take her down the hall, go in the last door on the right. It's my room." he nodded, and dragged Rose away with some difficulty.

Meaghan, Teagan and Miranda looked scared. "We have a bond," Lissa began, "that was forged when we were in the car accident a few years ago. I was the only one that survived. Even Rose died." they gasped. "I didn't know about spirit back then, but I-unknowingly-brought her back to life. It created a bond, and she can feel my emotions and hear my thoughts. Sometimes, she goes into my head and can see through my eyes. The bad thing about spirit is that it makes you insane, so whenever I use my magic, Rose absorbs the darkness and insanity that it creates. It makes her angry and confused."

"What about Adrian? Is he bonded to anyone?" Miranda asked, looking at Kira.

"No, Adrian drinks and smoke to keep the darkess away. It's an unhealthy yet effective method." Kira explained.

"Wow . . ." Teagan breathed.

"Yeah. Another thing Lissa can do is super-compulsion. Adrian's good, but not as good as Liss." Christian explained.

"Once Rose calms down, I'll demonstrate. That is, if you guys want me to." Lissa added. Just then, Rose and Dimitri walked out.

"Oh my God, Sarah! I'm so sorry about that!" she apologized.

I hugged her. "It's okay, no harm done. I understand that it wasn't you, it was the darkness."

"Thank God . . ." she turned to my friends. "I'm sorry if I scared you. I get a little crazy sometimes."

"It's okay. Lissa explained everything about the bond." Meaghan said.

"Rose, do you think you'll be okay if I demonstrate my super-compulsion?" Lissa asked.

"Yeah, but the guys have to hold me back. I'm not taking any chances." Rose replied. We all headed out to the backyard, where we would be doing our demonstration.

"Who's going to be my demo partner?" Lissa asked.

"I will!" Nat volunteered. Big mistake.

"Okay Nat, come here." Lissa instructed. Nat did as she was told, and Lissa waved me over.

"What is Natalee most afraid of?" Lissa whispered in my ear.

"She's terrified of being buried alive." I whispered. Lissa nodded, and stared straight into Natalee's hazel eyes.

"Natalee, you're being buried alive and there's no one who can help you." Natalee's calm expression turned to one of terror. She fell to the ground, writhing in fear.

"HELP! SOMEBODY, PLEASE HELP ME!" she shrieked. Eddie looked pained; he hated to see her like this, so terrified. I peeked at Rose to see how she was doing. Her expression was growing darker by the second. She started to tremble.

"Rose, breathe in and out. Don't let it take over; it's not you. Push those dark thoughts away." Dimitri coached her in a soothing voice. It seemed to work a little, but the longer Lissa held the compulsion, the more precarious Rose's hold on herself became.

"Lissa, I think that Natalee has had enough. Rose isn't doing so good over here." I said. Lissa took deep breaths, gradually letting go of the compulsion. She was too slow, though. Rose broke free from the guys, her face murderous. She lunged at me, only because I was the closest one to her. Her fist connected with my nose, and blood spurted out. I fell to the ground, clutching my now broken nose. Teagan and Meaghan sprung into action, tackling Rose. They had her pinned, and Dimitri ran over to help. The three of them dragged er to my room again, and Adrian walked over to me.

"Blondie, you okay?" he asked.

"Do I look like I'm fucking okay? My stupid damn nose is broken!" I yelled. He pulled my hand away from my face and touched my nose. It took a few minutes, but I soon felt the familiar hot then cold sensation. Adrian had healed my nose for me.

He helped me up, and I hugged him. "Adrian, thank you so much. I'm really sorry for yelling at you."

"It's okay, Blondie. I need a drink, that took a lot out of me."

"Go on, then." I replied, pushing him towards the house. Mason ran over to me. Eddie was already trying to comfort a very distraught Natalee.

"Babe, are you okay?" Mason asked, examining my face.

I laughed. "I'm fine, Mase. Come on, let's go inside." He took my hand, and we headed inside. I scanned the room for my mother, and I found her talking to her best friend, Brenda! Brenda is awesome! She's basically a second mother to me.

"Tootsarella Cheese!" I shouted. That was the nickname I gave to her when I was little.

"Sarah!" I ran and attacked her with a hug. I might've tackled her a little too hard, because she stumbled backwards. I caught her before she could fall. "Nice catch! You're fast, Sarah Bean!"

"I missed you, Toots."

"I missed you too, little girl."

Mason was watching our exchange with an amused expression.

"Brenda, this is my boyfriend, Mason. Mason, this is my mom's best friend Brenda."

"It's nice to finally meet you. Sarah tells me about you a lot." Mason said.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mason." She replied. Then she nudged me and whispered, "Nice one!" then we high fived.

"Mom, Brenda, do you wanna see my marks?"

"DUH!" they said in unison. I pulled my hair away from my neck, revealing my promise mark, 3 _molnijas_ and the battle star. I never voluntarily thought of the battle; too many bad memories. I was one of the few that was taken by the Strigoi and held prisoner in the caves. Sure, I put up one hell of a fight, but a Strigoi whacked me over the head and knocked me unconscious. I woke up to the darkness of the caves, and found Eddie beside me. A blond Strigoi came up to me and bit me, and they used me as a feeder. It was degrading, to say the least. When the rescue team came and Mason found me, I had lost a lot of blood. I was barely coherent, because of the endorphins. But even through the haze, I remember Mason's face exactly. He was frantic, and the most terrified I'd ever seen him. I remember him scooping me up into his arms and telling me that everything was going to be okay. He told me he loved me, and then I blacked out. I felt comforted by his presence, and he erased my fear. I still hadn't told my mother that I almost died, because I didn't want her to worry, but I think it's time.

I took a deep breath. "Mom, you know that battle I told you about?"

She looked puzzled, probably wondering where I was going with this. "Yes, why?"

"Well, there's something I didn't tell you." she stared at me, waiting for me to continue. "Mom, in that battle, myself, Eddie and others were taken by Strigoi. We were held hostage in some caves. The Strigoi used me as a feeder, and I almost died from blood loss. If our friend Mia's ghost hadn't told Rose where the caves were, I'd be dead-or worse-right now. Mason was the one who found me." I waited a few moments before speaking, letting her absorb what I just told her. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I didn't want you to worry."

Mom and Brenda hugged me. Mom was crying. "Oh Sarah, I'm just glad that you're okay!"

"Me too." I replied. "Mase, go get Nat and Eddie." he nodded and ran outside to get them. He returned moments later, and when Nat saw Brenda, she freaked out.

"BRENDAAAAAAAAAA!" she screeched.

"NATALEEEEEEEE!" Brenda yelled. Natalee hugged her, and Eddie introduced himself.

"Hello Brenda, I'm Nat's boyfriend, Eddie."

"I'm Brenda, Robin's best friend. It's nice to meet both of you."

"Guys, I'll be right back. I'm going to see Rose and tell her I'm not mad at her." I declared.

"Why would you be mad at her?" Mom asked.

"Because she broke my nose."

"What? Your nose isn't broken." Brenda said.

"Nat, will you explain for me?"

"Sure, Say. Go talk to Rose." Nat replied. I nodded and walked away. I stopped outside my bedroom, because I heard Dimitri and Rose talking inside.

"She hates me!" Rose cried.

"I'm sure she doesn't, Roza." Dimitri replied.

"Why not? She has every reason to."

"Because you're her friend. She understands."

"No. She hates me, and she'll never talk to me again."

I chose that moment to walk in. "Rose, I'd never, ever hate you." She looked horrible. She had tears streaming down her face, her face was all splotchy and her eyes were red and puffy.

"Really?" she asked in a small voice.

"Of course! Rose, you're one of my best friends. I could never hate you for something so small. I understand." I replied in a soft voice.

Rose jumped off the bed and hugged me tightly. "Thank you so much, Say."

"No problem, Rose. Hey, how about we go for a swim?"

She smiled. "I'd like that."

"Thank you." Dimitri mouthed. I nodded in acknowledgement. I walked out to let everyone know that we would all be going for a swim.

* * *

**So, what did you think? Tell me your thoughts in a review. Remember, if I don't get any, this story is done. I want to get 5-10 reviews.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry it took so long to get this up, I've just been busy and I was doing last minute touch ups to this chapter. I wanted it to be perfect. OMG it's my birthday on Monday! I'm gonna be 14, and I'm so excited! I'm pretty sure that Brenda is giving me The Vampire Diaries: Season One! OMG, I got my second ear piercings last night as an early birthday present from my mom. I'm really happy with the way they look :D Well, I'm rambling. Enjoy the chapter, it's one of my favorites.**

**Disclaimer: You know that I'm obviously not Richelle Mead, so no, I don't own VA or it's characters. I own all the other characters, though. Because, really, Richelle doesn't own me, my friends, or my family. Unless she wants to trade, cause, I'd take Dimitri over them any day. Well, maybe not. I don't know.**

_**Chapter Three: You just had to ruin our fun, didn't you?**_

I made my way out to the pool, clad in a hot pink bikini with black polka dots. It had a halter neck, and I must admit that it looked pretty killer on me. I saw Mason, who was wearing icy blue swim trunks. He was sitting with Nat, who was wearing a deep purple strapless one piece with an open back, and Eddie, who was wearing bright yellow swim trunks. Rose was wearing a fiery red bikini with white flowery patterns (she'd told me that it was for Canada, which made me laugh), and Dimitri was wearing plain black swim trunks. Adrian was wearing dark green swim trunks, and Kira had a lime green bikini on. Lissa wore a mint green bikini, and Christian wore navy blue swim trunks. Teagan wore a sunny yellow halter neck one piece, and her boyfriend Damon, (who I'd invited over, along with Meaghan's boyfriend Will and Miranda's boyfriend Justin) a tall, goofy black-haired brown-eyed dhampir, was wearing pumpkin orange swim trunks. Miranda wore a sky blue strapless bikini, and Justin, a tall blonde haired blue eyed Moroi (who was actually Christian's cousin) wore maroon swim trunks. Meaghan wore a burnt orange halter neck tankini, and her boyfriend Will, a tall brown haired grey eyed Moroi, wore black swim trunks.

I pulled the towel from under my arms, along with my aviators that were perched on my head, and placed them on a nearby chair. I didn't hear Mason come up behind me. He wrapped his arms around me and lifted me up, making his way over to the pool. He was going to throw me in!

"NO! MASON ASHFORD, I SWEAR TO GOD THAT IF YOU THROW ME IN THE POOL I WILL STRANGLE YOU! DON'T DO IT!" I shrieked.

He just laughed. "Sorry babe, I'm still gonna throw you in!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I yelled, but it was too late. I felt the air whooshing past me, and I hit the water with a huge splash. I barely even had time to hold my breath before I hit, so I immediately swam up to the surface.

"Mason Ashford, YOU ARE IN SOME SERIOUS SHIT!" I jumped out of the pool swiftly and chased Mason until he was close enough to the pool's edge for me to push him in. He looked shocked as he fell, and flailed uselessly. I ran into the garage and grabbed every single water gun we owned, which was more than enought. Everyone got one, and we still had some left over. I grabbed two for myself and filled them to the brim, and the war began.

* * *

The war ended, with the girls victorious, and the boys losers. We were all drenched, as a result of being sprayed repeatedly. In the middle of the fight, I almost pissed myself laughing because Natalee was running after Eddie, and she turned the corner beside the pool too sharply and wiped out, tumbling into the pool. When she emerged from the water, her side was all red, the result of a bellyflop. She looked absolutely pissed and embarassed.

After the water fight, we decided to have a chicken fight, each girl on their boyfriend's shoulders. Mason crouched down underwater so that I could position myself just right on his shoulders. When I was settled, he stood up and the fight began.

"CHARRRRRRRRRGE!" I yelled. We sprang forward, effectively knocking Lissa and Christian down. It was easy, since they were Moroi and we were dhampirs. I saw that Nat and Eddie knocked Meaghan and Will down, and Rose and Dimitri knocked Adrian and Kira down. It was funny seeing Rose on Dimitri's shoulders; she towered above all of us, because Dimitri was a freaking giant! Teagan and Damon took Miranda and Justin down next.

We divided the four remaining groups into a tournament-type battle. Rose and Dimitri were against Teagan and Damon, and Mason and I were against Nat and Eddie. Rose, Dimitri, Teagan and Damon went first. I sat on the side of the pool and watched the fight.

Damon looked like he was about to shit himself; he obviously thought the prospect of going against two of the most badass guardians was terrifying. Teagan kissed the top of his head, and whispered something in his ear. He nodded fiercely; whatever she said gave him confidence.

The fight began, and Damon ran at Dimitri and Rose as fast as he could while in the water. He and Teagan pushed Dimitri as hard as they could, and he stumbled, but quickly regained his balance. Damon and Teagan had retreated to the other side of the pool. At the same time, both teams ran at eachother, and Teagan and Damon didn't stand a chance. As soon as they collided, they tumbled backwards and under the water. I guess it's mine and Mason's turn now . . .

I climbed back on his shoulders, making sure that I was good and balanced.

If Mase was nervous or scared, he didn't show it. He looked determined and fierce; his bright orange hair gleaming in the warm sun and his eyes set on our targets. I concentrated on the task at hand, waiting for the signal to start. I looked Nat in the eyes, and she mouthed 'You're going down!' and I mouthed back 'Oh it's on, Lee Lee!'

"Everyone ready?" Dimitri asked. All four of us nodded.

"3, 2, 1, GO!" Rose shouted. We charged at eachother. When we hit, we wobbled a little, but refused to fall. Mason tried to sweep Eddie's legs out from under him, but Eddie sidestepped. I flailed my arms out, hoping it would distract Eddie so Mase could try again. Eddie looked at me like I was crazy, while Nat saw exactly what I was trying to do. She was about to warn Eddie, but my distraction worked and Eddie tumbled down, bringing Nat with him.

I raised my arms in victory, and Mason let go of my legs to do the same. The moment he let go, I backwards off his shoulders. I didn't really know how close to the pool's edge I was, well, until my head hit it. Hard, might I add. The last thing I saw was the horrified faces of my friends, as they saw where my head was headed.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, they were assailed by the bright sun. I quickly shut them again, before re-opening them, slower this time. I noticed that I was still in my wet bathing suit, wrapped in a towel with my head resting on Mason's lap.

"Sarah! I'm so sorry I let go!" he said, a guilty look in his eyes. I reached up and caressed his face; he leaned in to my touch.

"It's okay, Mase. It didn't hurt that bad." That was a total lie, because it hurt like a bitch. But I wasn't about to make him feel even more guilty than he already did.

"I was so scared that you were seriously hurt . . ."

"I know, Mase. You do tend to overreact." I replied, smiling up at him. He leaned down and crushed his lips to mine with a sudden intensity. Our lips molded together, moving in perfect syncronisation. My arms wrapped around his neck, and I leaned in to the kiss.

He pulled away all too soon. "I love you so much, Sarah Oldfield." he murmured.

"I love you too, Mason Ashford. With all my heart." I replied. My stomach let out a huge growl; must be suppertime.

Mason laughed. "God, was that a lion that just growled? Or was it just your stomach?"

I slapped his arm. "Hey, you're just jealous that you can't eat as much as I can."

"Yes, I'm sure that's it. You caught me, Sar." he stood up, reaching down to help me up. My head spun, and I started to fall to the side. Mason's strong hand caught me just in time. "I knew you weren't okay! Jeez Sar, you could've just cracked your skull open! We're going to see Lissa or Adrian, no buts. I won't take no for an answer."

"Ah, Mase. I love it when you get all tough. You're such a cutie!" I pinched his cheek, like just about every old person on this planet did to me when I was younger.

"Yeah, whatever." he scooped me up in his arms, presumably to take me inside to Adrian or Lissa. Grr . . . he's frustrating. Adrian probably won't be able to do anything, since he had a few drinks after healing my nose earlier. So that leaves Liss . . . I hope Rose will be okay.

He opened the glass sliding doors that led to the living room of the house. "Liss, Adrian, can one of you heal her head? She's being difficult about it, and she stood up a minute ago and almost fell."

"Uhhhh . . . I kinda can't. I've already had a few drinks." he raised his glass to prove his point.

"Liss?" Mason asked, hopeful.

I shook my head and mouthed no, hoping she'd listen to me. She nodded slightly to me, and I exhaled with relief.

"Sorry, Mase. I think Rose has dealt with enough darkness for one day. If she's still not okay tomorrow, I'll do it then." Lissa replied.

"Okay, but I'll hold you to that." Mason replied.

"Mase, you can put me down now. I need to get ready for supper." I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Fine, but I'm walking you to your room. I don't need you falling and hitting your head on the hardwood floors."

"Ugh, you're impossible, Mason. Do what you want."

He nodded happily, enjoying his victory. He carefully set me down on the floor, and I walked towards my room, not wobbly or dizzy in the least.

"See? I'm fine. I think you just pulled me up too fast last time. I'm not falling over anytime soon." I said when we reached my bedroom door.

"Yeah, maybe. Well, I'll leave you to get dressed. Just let me grab some clothes so that I can get dressed."

"Mase, you get dressed in here. I'll grab my stuff and get dressed in the bathroom that's attached to my room."

"That works. You have a bathroom attached to your room?" he looked shocked.

"Every bedroom in the house does."

"Sweet!" he yelled, whooping with joy.

"Men . . ." I muttered. "Only a guy would get excited about a bathroom." I opened the door, revealing my bedroom. Now, my bedroom was my favorite room in the entire house. The walls were painted black, with neon paint splatters, and the hand prints of my friends in neon colors as well. Their names were written under their hand print, so that we knew which one belonged to who. Right now, the only names on my wall were: _Sarah, Natalee, Teagan, Meaghan, Miranda, Cassandra, Elspeth and Robyn_. I stopped hanging out with Robyn, Elspeth and Cassandra a while ago, but I never painted over their small hand prints. After all, that would be like erasing memories. I planned on getting all of my other friends to do their own hand prints, and Natalee, Teagan, Meaghan, Miranda and I would so new ones, since we were little when we did the first ones. I had a queen sized bed, with sky blue bedding and huge puffy pillows. There was a light purple dog bed in the corner, where Sadie was currently snoozing. When Mason saw her, he got all excited.

"Is that Sadie?" he asked.

"Yeah, she's cute, isn't she?" I said in an affectionate tone. Sadie was my little princess, and I loved it when I came home and got to spend time with her.

"Yeah! Can we wake her up?" he asked in a pleading voice.

I let out a low chuckle. "Sure, Mase. Hold on." I walked over to the dog bed. "Sadie, wake up puppy." her little brown eyes opened slowly, and she streched her long black body. Sadie was a mix between a daschund and a lab, so she had a long body and short legs like a daschund, but a face and the coloring of a lab. She looked at me, and her tail started wagging. I scratched behind her ears, and her tongue rolled out of her mouth. I waved Mason over.

"Hi Sadie. Aren't you just the cutest?" he reached out a finger to tickle her chin. She closed her eyes and made an appreciative noise.

"She likes you."

Mason's eyes lit up. "She does?"

"Can't you tell?"

"Yeah, I guess she does! She's so soft . . ."

"I know. Mom must've just brushed her fur. Now, get dressed. I'm just gonna grab my stuff and go into the bathroom. When I come out, you had better be ready." I warned him. He nodded quickly, and I grabbed my clothes and makeup bag. I walked over to the door on the other side of my room that led to my bathroom. I turned the handle, and walked into my sea of pink. The walls were hot pink, all the towels were various shades of pink and the floors were pink tiles. I set my stuff on the counter, and stripped my bikini off. For dinner, I chose to wear denim short-shorts, a white and navy blue striped strapless shirt and navy blue flats that had a bow on the toes. I quickly dressed, and got to work oon my hair. I blow dried it until it was a mess of brown and blonde tangles. I ran my brush through my hair until it was smooth. I tied it over into a side ponytail, then braided my bangs and pinned them to the side. I applied foundation, eyeliner, mascara, and pink lemonade lip smackers. I gathered my towel and bikini and rolled them into a ball. I threw them in the hamper, then exited the bathroom.

Mason was dressed and ready for dinner. He wore a orange polo shirt that looked great with his orange hair, and dark wash jeans. He wore white and orange DC skate shoes.

"Wow, Sar. You look . . . amazing." he said, looking me up and down.

I felt a blush creeping up my cheeks. "Thanks, Mase. You look pretty great too." he really did. I was trying to keep myself from jumping him. He extended his hand, and I gladly took it in mine. I was just about to kiss him when there was a knock on my bedroom door.

"Fuck." I whispered. "Yes?" I called.

"Mom and Brenda told me to come get you guys and tell you that supper is ready." Either Nic or Alex replied. You can't tell them apart by their voices, and sometimes it's hard to tell them apart by their appearances too. But you could tell by the way they acted which one was which. Nic was quiet, sensitive, and gentle. Alex was loud, ignorant, and a little rough sometimes.

"Okay. We'll be right out, 'kay Nic or Al, whichever one you are." I replied.

I heard a huff in the hall. "It's Alex. Jeez."

"Whatever. Just go tell them that Mason and I will be right out." I heard him run down the hall towards the kitchen. I turned back to Mason, who was smiling.

"Wow, you can't even tell your brothers apart."

"Yes I can! Not by their voices, though. They sound alike."

"Ah, I see."

"Now, where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?"

"Hmmm . . . Right about," he leaned in so that our lips were almost touching, "here." he pressed his lips to mine, in a warm, gentle kiss. One thing that I love about Mason is that even though he's a jokester and is rarely serious about anything, he has this wonderful loving, sensitive side of him.

We pulled apart when my stomach let out another loud rumble. "Come on, let's get you some food. You're hungry." Mason said. I nodded eagerly. I adore food, and I can eat a lot of it since I'm constantly training. Because of that training, I don't get fat. So it all works out for me.

"Come on, Sade. Come see my friends." When I called her, Sadie came running over to her. She's a very obediant dog, and loyal too. She followed Mason and I out to the dining room, where we would be eating our supper. There were loud squeals from all of the girls when they saw Sadie, and, like the social little dog she is, she ran over to all of them. All that could be heard was "She's so cute!" "She's adorable!" "Aww, look at her!" from all of the girls. Sadie ran right up to Nat and licked her from her chin to her hairline.

Nat wiped her face. "Aw, Sade! You're getting me all slobbery!" Nat really didn't care, but it was a little gross.

Eddie looked at me. "Can I pat her?"

"Of course. Scratch her chest, it's her favorite spot."

Eddie walked over to her and scratched her chest, and her leg began to shake with bliss. everyone laughed, and soon all the guys were petting her too. She was irresistable; loved by everyone.

"Okay, everyone sit down. Supper is ready." Mom announced, carrying two huge pans of homemade pizza.

"Here Robin, let me help you with that." Mason said, walking over and taking a pan from her.

"Thank you, Mason!" she said, clearly impressed with Mason's gentleman-ness.

"No problem, Mrs. O."

Brenda came in carrying two pans of garlic fingers, which Mason helped her with also.

Once everyone was seated, I grabbed four pieces of pizza and eight garlic fingers. The other dhampirs had similar plate of food, but not quite as much. Rose was the only one who had as much food as I did. The Moroi had, at the most, two pieces of pizza and a few garlic fingers.

I bit into a piece of pizza, and almost moaned. It was so amazing! I missed this pizza. "Mom, Brenda, you guys are the best!"

"Don't we know it . . ." Brenda said, smiling.

"We also made surprise desserts, Sarah. You'll be happy." Mom said.

My mind was racing, trying to figure out the mystery desserts. The possibilities were endless!

I finished my food quickly, wanting to get to the dessert. When everyone else finished, mom and Brenda got up and went into the kitchen. They returned seconds later, mom carrying a large cake, and Brenda carrying a giant pan of oreo squares. My two favorite desserts!

"Is that chocolate cake with boiled icing?" I asked, bouncing with excitement.

"Duh! We know it's your favorite kind!" Brenda replied.

"Okay, you two are officially the most amazing people on this planet." I stated. I grabbed a big oreo square, and and even bigger piece of cake. I ate the oreo square first. Oreo squares are basically baked oreo crumbs for the bottom, and the top was a mix of cool whip and cream cheese, with a few crumbs sprinkled on top. I ate my cake after that, not leaving a crumb behind.

When I finished. I leaned back in my chair and patted my stomach. "Best meal ever." I said. There were nods of agreement all around me. I turned to my mother. "Mom, can I talk to you in the kitchen for a minute?"

"Sure." she replied, standing up and walking out to the kitchen. I followed. "What is it?" she asked.

"Mom, I think it's time that the boys know what I am. We can't hide it forever, you know."

She thought about it for a minute. "Sarah, they're so young. Do you think that it's the best thing to do?"

I nodded fiercely. "It's the right thing to do, mom. They need to know, so they can be aware."

"Fine. But break it to them gently, okay? They'll be shocked, you know."

"Don't worry. They'll be fine." With that, I turned and walked out of the kitchen. "Nic, Al, come with me to my room. I have something to tell you two."

"Okay." they replied together. It freaked me out when they did that . . .

We walked to my room in silence. We all sat on my bed, and they looked at me attentively.

I took a deep breath. "Boys, what I am about to tell you, you can't repeat to any of your friends. Okay?" they nodded, so I continued. "You know how we don't have the same dad?"

"Yeah, what does that have to do with anything?" Alex asked.

"Well, that's because my dad was a . . . vampire. A Moroi, which is a good vampire."

"You're kidding, right?" Nic asked uncertainly.

"No. I'm a dhampir, a half-human, half-vampire. I'm not the only one, either. Natalee is a dhampir too."

"Cut the crap, Sarah. You're obviously lying to us. Vampires don't exist." Alex said, as if trying to convince himself.

"Guys, I know that it's hard to believe, but I'm telling the truth. Let me prove it to you." I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Lissa's number. She answered on the second ring.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Liss, can you come to my room for a minute? I need your help with something."

"Sure. I'll be right there."

"Thanks, Liss."

"No problem." the phone line went dead. I was hoping that the boys would believe me when Lissa showed them her fangs. They took a liking to Lissa, so they'll feel comfortable with her.

"Why did you call Lissa?" Nic asked.

"Because she can prove that I'm not lying." just then, my door opened and Lissa walked in.

"What did you need my help with?" she asked.

"I'm trying to prove that Moroi and dhampirs are real. Could you show them your teeth?"

She nodded and opened her mouth, revealing her sharp white fangs. The boys gasped, and Alex fell off the bed.

"Nic, Alex, Lissa is a Moroi. She is the Dragomir Princess, the very last in her family. Dhampirs train to be bodyguards for Moroi, and I'm Lissa's guardian, along with Rose. Natalee is Adrian's guardian, along with Kira."

"What in the world would you have to protect a vampire from?" Alex asked.

I dreaded this question. "Strigoi. They're evil, undead vampires. When Moroi get the blood that they need to survive, they don't kill. They get their blood from humans who willingly donate it. Strigoi kill their victims, whether they're human, Moroi, or dhampir. Moroi blood makes them very strong, so we protect them. That school that I went to? It's a school for dhampirs and Moroi, and I've been training all my life to kill Strigoi."

"What do you kill them with?" Nic asked.

I pulled out my stake. It wasn't an ordinary stake; when Rose and I became Lissa's guardians, she had our stakes engraved. My stake had flowery vines going up the side, and my initials were engraved near the tip. It also said 'To a very dedicated person, one willing to lay their life down for my own.' on the side opposite to the vines. "There are three ways to kill a Strigoi. You can stab them in the heart with one of these," I gestured to my stake, "light them on fire, or decapitate them."

"That's so cool! Can I hold it?" Alex asked.

"Absolutely . . . not! I wasn't even allowed to touch one until I was fifteen. You have to be trained to hold a stake."

"Aww!" Nic and Alex grumbled.

"The thing in these stakes that kill the Strigoi is Moroi magic. Lissa, would you like to explain this to them?"

"Sure." Lissa replied. "We Moroi each can control one of five elements: fire, water, air, earth, and spirit. When a stake is forged, fire, water, air and earth are added to it. Moroi magic is filled with life, Strigoi are not. They're the walking dead, basically. The life in the stake kills the Strigoi."

"Sweet! What element do you have, Lissa?" Nic asked.

"Spirit. It's the rarest element of all, and not many people have it. Adrian is the only other one that I've met."

"What does spirit do?" Alex asked.

"Well, I can heal, see auras, and use super compulsion. Adrian can see auras, dreamwalk, and heal a little."

"That is the coolest thing that I've ever heard! What's the most you've ever healed?"

Lissa took a deep breath. "Well, a few years ago, Rose, my family and I were in a car accident. I was the only one that survived, not even Rose did. I healed her, brought her back to life. It created a psychic bond between us, and she can hear my thoughts, feel my emotions, and take away the darkness that spirit creates. It makes her a little crazy, but she's learning to deal with it."

"I'm so sorry about your family, Lissa." Nic said, giving Lissa a hug. See? Sensitive one.

"Thank you, Nic." Lissa replied.

"Yeah, that must've been horrible." Alex added.

"Yeah, but at least I still have Rose, Sarah, and all of my other friends."

"So you said something about compulsion." Alex said. Lissa nodded. "Can you make Sarah hit herself in the head?"

Lissa turned to me. I rolled my eyes and nodded.

I looked deeply into Lissa's jade green eyes. "Sarah, you're going to hit yourself in the head." I was going to hit myself in the head. I wanted nothing more than to do so. I raised my hand in front of me, and smacked myself on the forehead. Lissa released the compulsion.

"Awesome!" the boys shouted.

"Nic, Al, do you wanna see the other elements?" I asked. They nodded eargerly, and we went to the backyard. I sent Lissa to go get the others.

Once everyone was gathered, we began the demonstration. Christian went first.

"Nic, you'll love this one." I said. Nic was a bit of a pyromaniac. When he was two, he turned the stove on and put his plastic toys on the burner. The kitchen caught on fire, and the firemen had to have a talk with him. **(A/N: This actually did happen.) **He's fascinated with anything associated with fire.

Christian extended his hand, palm up, and created a ball of fire. He threw it up and caught it again, then threw it into the pool.

"That. Was. So. Cool!" Nic yelled, dead-serious.

I just laughed. "Miranda, you're up next." she stood in front of the pool, sticking a finger out. Swirling water rose from the pool, and followed her finger. She made it circle around the boys, and they looked at it with amazement.

"Whoa . . ." Alex breathed.

"Do we have an air user?" I asked. Justin nodded and stepped forward. He created a gust of wind, and it almost blew my brothers over!

"Sweet!"

"Now. Will, are you an earth user, by any chance?" he nodded. He looked at the back of the property, where there was some large boulders. In a flash, the one on top shattered into a million pieces.

"Holy crap! That was crazy!" the boys shouted.

I got an idea. "Boys, do you wanna see us dhampirs spar with eachother?"

"DUH!"

"Okay, Mase. Me and you will spar first."

"Sure, babe. I'm not going easy on you, though."

"Why would you? It should be me going easy on you. I kick ass, and you know it."

"Whatever." he slid down into a crouch, and I mirrored him.

"Go Mason! Kick her butt!" Alex yelled.

"No! Sarah, beat the crap out of him!" Nic shouted.

I struck out first, my fist flying towards Mason's face. He blocked, then jabbed my ribs. Shit, that hurt! I responded with a fierce roundhouse kick to his chest, which sent him stumbling back. I pounced on him, and we grappled. He tried to roll me off, but it was useless. I leaned down and pressed my lips to his jugular.

"Dead." I whispered playfully in his ear. Mason groaned, and Nic was cheering. "Sorry, Mase. I did it for Nic."

"Whatever." he mumbled. His pride was hurt. To make him feel better, I kissed his soft lips.

"Ewwww! No PDA, Sarah!" Alex sqealed.

Mason and I were laughing. "Love ya, Mason."

"Love you too, Sarah."

Rose and Dimitri sparred next, which Dimitri won. Nat and Eddie went after them, and Nat won. Kira and Meaghan sparred, and Kira won. The last people to spar were Teagan and Damon, and Teagan won.

When Nat and Eddie sparred, she got him pretty bad in the face. A bruise was forming on his right cheek. Lissa walked over to him, unable to resist. She gently pressed her hand to his cheek, and the bruise faded.

"Thanks, Liss. I owe you one." Eddie said.

"Oh, it was nothing. It looked like it hurt." Lissa replied.

"Fuck!" Rose said, clutching her stomach.

"What?" I asked, fearful of the answer. I knew that it could only mean one thing.

"Strigoi."

**Oh nooooooooooooooo! What's gonna happen? Those damn Strigoi ruin everything, don't they?**

**Sadie is creeping me out right now. She won't stop staring at me, and I don't know why :S Maybe she knows that I've been writing about her... she is pretty smart... Whataver. It's still creepy. Ugh, now her, Ollie and Slader are all barking at nothing -.- they're drowning out my music!**

**Songs listened to for this chapter:  
Your Guardian Angel - The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus  
Good To You - Marianas Trench  
Angels Cry - The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus  
Only Girl (In The World) - Rihanna  
Double Vision - 3OH!3  
Commander - Kelly Rowland  
Notice Me - Alexa Ray Joel**

**I want to get to 15 reviews before another update :D tell me what you think of the chapter, maybe your predictions on what's gonna happen with the Strigoi?**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Well, here's the next chapter. I cried when I was writing it, because I find it sad. Don't know if you guys will, but still. Big changes are coming.**

**This chapter is dedicated to ****Nicia**** and ****XXTap Sum BongXX****, who both have reviewed every chapter so far. You guys absolutely rock. Oh and, ****XXTap Sum BongXX****, of course Natalee is your favorite. CAUSE SHE'S YOU! Hehe Nat, you're silly. Freak. But that's why you're my best bud :D**

**If anyone ever wants a chapter dedicated to them, you have to work for it. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer: I only own Natalee, Teagan, Meaghan, Kira, Miranda, Robin, Nic, Alex, Brenda, Sadie, Damon, Will, Justin and myself. Hope I didn't forget anyone :S Anywho, Richelle Mead owns the other characters.**

_**Chapter Four: My life just can't get any worse, can it?**_

"Strigoi." Rose whispered, and my fears were confirmed. I was instantly on high alert.

"Teagan, Damon, Meaghan and Kira, circle the Moroi and my brothers. Everyone else, prepare for battle." I ordered. Everone did as they were asked. The Moroi and my brothers were taken over to the wall of the house, except for Christian.

"I'm helping." he stated. I nodded.

"Sarah, what's going on?" Nic asked, a look of terror on his face.

"Boys, stay over there. There are Strigoi nearby." I replied.

"How do you know?" Alex asked, fear evident in his clear blue eyes.

It wasn't me, but Rose who answered. "I can sense them. Stay quiet, okay?" they nodded, looking terrified.

I turned to Mason. "I love you, Mase. Be careful."

"I love you too, Sarah. You're the one who needs to be careful."

"I'll try my best, but no guarantees." I had a history of acting without thinking.

"They're getting closer." Rose murmured. Mason pulled me to him, crushing his lips to mine for what might be our last kiss. When we broke away, I clutched my stake firmly in my right hand. I was ready for anything.

Seconds later, the Strigoi burst through the trees at the end of the yard. There must've been at least fifteen or twenty of them. My eyes briefly locked with Natalee's. She nodded slightly, and I knew that she was telling me to be careful. We sometimes joked that we were telepathic with eachother, because we always knew what the other was thinking. I nodded back. We were ready.

"Now!" I yelled, and we all shot forward with amazing speed. I tackled the closest Strigoi to me, a tall, skinny male. Obviously Moroi before being turned. His fist flew towards my face in a sloppy punch, which I easily dodged. I rammed my elbow into his gut, and he doubled over. I then aimed a kick for his crotch, and he groaned. I knew that I'd hit the mark, so I took the opportunity to shove my stake into his heart. He crumpled to the ground, and I withdrew my stake from his dead body. I snuck a glance at Mason, just in time to see him neatly stake a female Strigoi. Another pounced at him, which he dodged. A female Strigoi jumped at me. I tried to punch her, but she sidestepped and retaliated with a punch to my head. I fell backwards, seeing stars. She was on me in an instant, pinning me down.

"You look delicious." she said.

"Sorry, I don't swing that way. I have a boyfriend." I replied, using my awesome sense of humor.

"Shut up! That's not what I meant. Hmm . . . you'll be a great addition to our world."

"Don't count on it." I grunted, shoving her off with newfound strength. We both stood up, and I swept my leg out to knock her legs out from under her. She fell, and it was my turn to pin her.

"Sorry." I said before plunging my stake into her heart. The life-or whatever it was-faded from her eyes, and she was limp.

I peeked over at Natalee, and saw her staking a Strigoi. Suddenly, one popped up behind her and whacked her over the back of the head. She fell to the ground, unconscious. The Strigoi leaned down and bit her.

"Natalee!" Eddie and I screeched. It was in that moment that I felt cold hands on my neck.

"Boo." a cold voice whispered in my ear. I stiffened, and my breathing hitched in my throat. Shit.

"Was that supposed to scare me?" I asked, trying to sound brave because it did in fact scare me. I didn't want the Strigoi to know that, though.

"Yes, and I know that it did. I can hear your heart racing and your erratic breathing. You can't fool me, dhampir."

"It was worth a try." I replied, fear leaking into my voice, making it shake.

"Enough chit-chat. You will be one of us. There's no escaping this." NO! This can't be happening. I started shrieking and thrashing, trying to get away. I couldn't think clearly; fear clouded my thoughts and made me sloppy. His hold on my throat tightened, almost cutting off my airway. Another Strigoi stepped forward to restrain me.

A whimper escaped my quivering lips. This is it. After this, I won't be me. I'll be something horrible, disgusting. The thought made me want to puke. My eyes locked with Mason's, who was staring at me in horror. He knew that I wouldn't get away. Trying to comfort him, I said. "I love you so much, Mase. Never forget that, no matter what happens. To everyone else, I'm sorry. I've failed all of you." Tears were falling freely down my face. The Strigoi laughed cruelly at my anguish. The Strigoi behind me decided that it was time. His teeth sank into the delicate skin of my neck, and I cried out in the brief flare of pain. But the pain was soon replaced with complete bliss, and I could barely even think. The thoughts that weren't scattered were of Mason, my friends, and my family. My eyelids were becoming heavy; I was so tired. The last thing that I saw before they closed was Mason trying to get to me, but Dimitri held him back. If I could've said thank you to him for keeping Mason away, I would've. My eyes closed, and I seeked comfort in the endless black waves of unconsciousness.

* * *

I was pulled out of unconsciousness by pain. Not just any pain; I was freezing, to the point of excruciating pain. I wanted to scream, to cry, to do something, but I couldn't make my mouth work. It felt like I was encased in a giant block of ice, completely frozen.

My hearing was becoming increasingly clearer. I heard crying all around me, and it broke my heart. _They're crying because of you_, a voice in my head said. _I know_, I replied. Great. I'm talking to myself. All of the pain they were experiencing was because of me. Because I got distracted. Because I wasn't strong enough.

I was distracted from my thoughts by a burning pain in my throat. Sure, the rest of me was ice, but my throat was fire. I could smell a lovely aroma from all around me, taunting me. It was sweet, mouthwatering.

After what felt like forever but was probably only a few minutes, it felt like the ice was cracking. The need to soothe my aching throat was almost unbearable. I felt the need to move, to quench my thirst. My eyes flew open, and everything was so clear, defined.

In one fluid movement, I stood up, looking all around me. That lovely aroma was everywhere, and I realized what it was. It was blood, because I'm a monster now.

"Sarah?" Mason said from behind me. I saw his tear streaked face, and smelled the scent of his sweet, sweet blood. Realizing where my thoughts were, I ran, faster than I thought possible, and stood against a wall.

"Mason," I began, "stay away from me, or you'll get hurt. I don't want to hurt you."

"But Sarah-"

"No, Mase. If you come near me, I'm afraid of what I might do. You smell good, mouthwatering actually. I don't want to take the chance of hurting you. Please, please, just back away." I pleaded. He did as I asked, and backed up to where the others were.

"Oh Sarah, what have they done to you?" Natalee asked softly. _Good_, I thought. _They saved her in time. She won't be a monster like me_. I saw where she was bitten, and there was dry blood caked around the small puncture marks. Oh God, she smells delicious.

I put my head in my hands and shook my head, sobbing uncontrollably. I heard a whooshing sound and my head snapped up. "STAY AWAY!" I shrieked at Natalee, who had been running towards me. "Please Nat, just don't come over here. I can't take it. It's like your blood is calling to me, promising to take the pain away. I need to get away from here." A tear ran down my face.

Natalee noticed the tear and gasped. "Sarah, how are you crying? I thought Strigoi couldn't cry!"

"I don't know! Natalee, I'm so confused. I don't know what to do! Part of me wants you to hug me and tell me that everything is gonna be okay and the other part wants to sink my teeth into your neck! My throat is burning like hell. I NEED BLOOD! I screeched. I didn't want to think these thoughts, they disgusted me.

Without warning, I blew past everyone and ran up the yard. I heard people calling my name, but I wouldn't, couldn't turn around. I needed to find someone, someone to kill, to drain all of their blood from their body. I felt like I was going to be sick from thinking that way, but the need was too strong.

I was running down the street when I noticed a homeless guy leaning against a trash can. He was dirty and stinky, but I could care less. Right now, he was the most appealing thing in the world. I ran over to him. He was mumbling something unintelligible to himself. He was clearly drunk.

I crouched down to his level, staring him in the eyes. "Listen, I'm really sorry for what I'm about to do. You're not going to scream, or make a sound." Compulsion seemed like the way to go, since I didn't want to be noticed. "Tilt your neck to the side." he nodded, and moved his head. Oh wow, he smelled amazing. Unable to help myself, I sprung forward and latched on to his throat. He didn't make a sound, so I guess that the compulsion worked.

God, he tasted exquisite. It was so sweet, and my throat stopped burning. I tried to find the will to stop, to not kill him, but it was a lost cause. I couldn't stop.

When I was done, he was limp and he fell to the side. Tears sprang to my eyes. I just killed an innocent man. I was completely disgusted with myself. My cell phone began to buzz in my pocket. I looked at who was calling, and saw that it was Mason.

"H-h-h-hello?"

"Sarah? Oh God, what happened? Are you okay?"

"N-n-n-no, Mas-s-se. I-I k-killed him. It's all my f-f-fault. I killed him."

"Killed who? Sarah, you're not making any sense. Where are you?"

I looked around. "K-k-kanes C-corner."

"I'm coming to get you."

I started to protest. "N-" The phone went dead.

I wanted to move, to run away, but I couldn't bring myself to leave the dead homeless man. I curled up in a ball on the sidewalk.

* * *

I heard soft footfalls coming down the street. I looked up and saw Mason, along with Eddie and Natalee. They saw me, then noticed the dead man beside me. Tears fell in a fresh torrent down my face, and I shook with the sobs that wracked my body.

"Shhhhh, Sar. It's okay. Shhhhh." Mason said, pulling me into his arms and smoothing my hair. He picked me up, and I cried into his chest. It was weird; his scent no longer tortured me, even though it was right in front of my face. I didn't smell blood, I smelled his Axe body spray.

"Eddie, Nat, call the Alchemists to clean this up." Mason said. They nodded, and Mason took off down the street, holding me tightly. I clutched him for dear life.

I soon heard another voice. "Mase, is she okay?" Rose, it was Rose who spoke.

"I don't know, she's really shaken up." he replied. She opened the door for us, and Mason walked into the living room and sat on the couch, cradling me on his lap.

Someone screamed. "Why did you bring her here? She'll kill us!" Mom shrieked.

"Robin, calm down. She's not a normal Strigoi. She's different." Dimitri explained. I really do have to thank him.

"What do you mean?" Mom asked, her tone doubtful.

"She's able to cry, the red rings around her eyes are gone, when they were clearly there when she left, and she feels remorse. Strigoi aren't like this." he elaborated. Her eyes focused on me, noticing my dirty, tear-streaked face for the first time. She slowly walked closer, as if I would pounce if she got too close.

"Say-Say, what's wrong?" she asked cautiously.

"I killed him. I killed him, mom. I didn't want to, I tried to stop, but I couldn't. I'm a monster!" I cried, burying my face in my hands.

The warm arms of my mother encircled me. "Oh Sarah, you're so cold." my mom said. "Are you okay?"

"No, mom. I'm not. Why me? What did I do to deserve this? I don't want to be like this!"

"I know, sweetie. Calm down, I'm going to get your friends and your brothers. They're torn up, Sarah. Mason, take my spot."

She got up, and Mason sat down. He pulled me to his chest again, and I felt safe. Comforted. I heard footsteps upstairs, and lots of them.

"Sarah, here. I picked this up outside." Mason held my stake out to me. "I don't know if you'll be able to touch it or not."

I sniffled. "It can't hurt to try." I reached for the stake. I tensed myself, ready for the acidic burn that I was probably going to feel. I gingerly touched it, and felt nothing. I wrapped my fingers around the hilt, feeling only cool metal.

Natalee and Eddie walked through the door.

"Whoa, you're holding a stake? Shouldn't you like, be screaming or something like that?" Eddie asked.

I shrugged. "I'm a bit of a freak, I guess."

"Yeah, your eyes aren't red anymore. Are your fangs still there?" Natalee asked.

I slid my tongue along my teeth. "No, nothing."

"This is really weird. I'm not even nauseous around you." Rose commented, looking mystified.

Just then, I heard people running down the stairs.

"Sarah!" the twins yelled, barreling into me and wrapping their arms around my neck. I began to cry again, but of happiness. I was glad to see them again.

"Nic! Alex! Oh God, I'm so sorry that you had to witness all of that!"

"We're just glad that you're okay! Are you really one of . . . them?" Nic asked.

I nodded sadly. "Yes, but I'm different, see? I'm holding a stake."

"Sarah, when it bit you, I was so scared. I thought I'd never see you again!" Alex said, a lone tear sliding down his face.

"It's okay, I'm here."

The Moroi, Teagan, Meaghan and Kira ran down the stairs. Kira stopped in her tracks when she saw me.

"Get away from her! She's dangerous!" she shouted.

"Kira, calm yourself down!" Mason said, glaring at her.

"Kira, please listen. I'm different. I won't hurt you." I said.

"You probably compelled everyone to believe you!" she shrieked.

Adrian was studying me intently. "Kira, she's telling the truth. I can see her aura, she's not lying. Plus, if she was compelling people to believe her, why hasn't she compelled you?"

Kira sagged with relief. "Oh Sarah, I thought that we'd lost you!"

"I know. I'm sorry that I scared everyone."

"Sarah, I see sadness in your aura. Why?" Lissa asked.

"I'll tell you later." I didn't really want my brothers to know that I killed someone. They didn't need to know. Lissa nodded, understanding.

"Well, Sarah. Are you okay?" Christian asked. Just like everyone else, his eyes were red and puffy, like he had been crying too.

"I'm fine, Sparky. Were you crying?" I asked.

"Maybe . . ."

"Aww, Sparky, I'm touched. Never knew you cared so much."

"Well, I do. There, I said it."

I looked at Miranda, who was crying. "Mandy, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing. I'm just so happy that you're okay!"

"Yeah, you scared all of us." Teagan added.

"Try to never do that again." Meaghan said.

"I'll try not to." I let out a huge yawn.

"Tired?" Mason asked.

"Very." I replied.

"Come on, then. Let's get you to bed." I nodded and stood up. I ran top speed, seeing how fast I could go. I almost ran right into Brenda.

"Oh! Brenda, I'm sorry!"

"It's okay, Sarah-Bean. Give me a hug, you scared me so much earlier." She wrapped her arms around me, and I returned the hug.

"Goodnight, Tootsarella Cheese."

"Goodnight Sarah, Mason."

"Night, Bren." Mason said. We walked away, down the hall to my room.

I got a brilliant idea. Without warning, I picked Mason up and slung him over my shoulder and ran to my room.

"OMG I can't believe I can lift you over my shoulder!" I squealed.

"So not cool, Sar. Although, I will admit that the speed was pretty beast!" he high-fived me.

"I agree." I walked over to my drawers to get some pajamas. My clothes were a little torn and dirty. I pulled out a pink camisole and light blue pajama bottoms. I didn't mind getting changed in front of Mason. He turned to walk out the door, but I ran over and stopped him.

"Where are you going? Please don't leave me." I begged.

"I need to grab some pjs."

"Allow me." I blew past him and ran up the stairs to grab his suitcase. I returned in ten seconds. "Here you go, babe."

"Thanks, Sar-Sar." he pecked me on the cheek. He changed his shirt, opting for a black wife-beater. Before he put it on, I caught a glimpse of his well defined abs. God, he was sexy. He took his jeans off, staying in his boxers.

I pulled the covers down on my bed and climbed in, Mason following.

I looked at him closely. There was worry in his eyes, though he tried to hide it.

"What are you worried about?" I asked.

"How did you-nevermind. It's . . . nothing."

"Mason." there was a warning tone in my voice.

"Sarah, seriously. It's nothing."

I was starting to get angry. "Cut the crap, Mason. I can see it in your eyes."

He stared at me in horror. "What?" I asked.

"Your . . . your eyes. The red ring is there again. Are you angry?"

"A little, yeah. I want you to tell me what you're so worried about."

He sighed in defeat. "I'm just worried that you're going to leave every time you get . . . thirsty."

I flinched. "I don't know, Mase. It's just that when I go all 'Strigoi mode', the smell of your blood drives me crazy. Not just yours, but everyone's. I hate it, because then all I can think about is killing you."

"Oh. I see." he looked uncomfortable.

"Yeah . . . let's just forget about it for now, okay? We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"Okay. Night, Sarah."

"Night, Mason." I leaned in to give him a goodnight kiss. His arms snaked around my waist, and one of my arms went up to wrap around his neck, and the other went into his hair. I hitched my leg around his waist, and he ran one of his hands up and down my side, making me shiver. His tongue slid into my mouth and our tongues began and intricate dance. He was so warm, and my cold body warmed instantly. I put a hand under his shirt, and began tracing his abs. He shuddered, and threw himself into the kiss even more. I held him tightly, wanting to never let go. Hishand went to the hem of my shirt, and slowly inched it up until it was off. He pulled away, and I pouted.

"You are so beautiful that it hurts, Sarah."

My pout turned into a smile. "Really?" I asked.

"Yes. I love you."

"I love you too, Mase."

He crushed his lips to mine with a sudden intensity. I pulled his shirt over his head and admired his toned abs. He began to trail kisses down my jaw, and on my neck. He stopped, only to begin sucking on my neck. I let out a moan; it felt amazing. When he finished, I gave him the same attention, and he groaned. Mason and I, we were perfect for eachother. I loved him with all my heart. I pulled away, and saw the big red mark that I left on his neck.

"You. Are. Amazing." he said.

"You're not too bad yourself." I yawned again.

"You're tired. Sleep, we'll have other time for fun."

"Mmmmm . . . 'kay. Goodnight."

"Night. Sweet dreams."

I fell asleep, wrapped in his arms, knowing that everything would be okay.

**How was it? I hope that I didn't disappoint anyone with this chapter. I happen to like it a lot :D**

**I want 5-10 reviews before you get another chapter. Got it? I'm trying this new thing where I say something, and mean it :)**

**Until next time :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hello everyone :) sorry this took so long. I've been busy with midterms, and I haven't had much time to write. Thank you all for the alerts/favorites and the reviews. I got more than I asked for :D you guys are soooooo awesome.**

**This chapter is dedicated to ****RR-Roza-Robertson**** for reviewing all of my stories :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own VA or it's characters. I only own this plot and any characters that aren't from VA.**

-Sarah :)

_**Chapter Five: Eating Contest?**_

I woke up the next morning, feeling a burn in my throat. Oh no. Mason was still asleep, his arm wrapped firmly around my waist. Oh God, he smelled so good! Maybe just a little bite-no. I shook my head, pushing those thoughts away. I put my hand on Mason's arm and shook it.

"Mase, wake up. You have to let me go."

He groaned. "What?"

"Mase, you gotta let go. I have to get away from you."

He shot up into a sitting position. "No! Don't leave again!"

"I have to, Mason. I don't wanna hurt you guys."

He reached up to stroke my cheek with his thumb. "I'm coming with you."

I shook my head. "I don't want you seeing me like that. No."

"But-" I put a finger over his lips to silence him.

"I'll be back in half an hour. I promise."

He sighed. "Fine. Wait, can you even go in the sun?"

Right. Hadn't thought about that. "I have no idea. I guess I'll have to find out." I walked over to my curtains, which were blocking the sunlight from my room. I grabbed one and pulled it aside, ducking into a shadowy part, just in case. I slowly reached my hand out, into the stream of golden sunlight. I hoped to God that it wouldn't burn. The sunlight touched my skin, and I screamed.

"Sarah! Are you okay? Does it burn?" Mason was frantic.

I burst into a fit of laughter. "Gotcha!"

"So not funny, Blondie!" he said, chucking a pillow at my face. I dodged, throwing my whole body into the sun.

"See, Mase? I'm perfectly fine, not being burnt to a crisp."

He stared at me, gaping like a fish. WTF? "Am I that much of a freak?"

"No, not at all. It's just the way the sun lights up your hair. You look like an angel."

"Oh God, you're such a sap!"

"Yeah, whatever. But anyways, this is amazing. What are you? You're obviously not a full Strigoi."

I thought about that. What was I? "I have no clue, Mase. Maybe I'm still half dhampir."

"Maybe. We'll have to research it."

"Yeah, but I really have to go now. You're too damn irresistable for your own good. Tell everyone that I went, but I'll be back soon."

"Sar, aren't you even going to get dressed? Not that I'm complaining, but still."

I looked down and realized that I was shirtless, wearing only a bra and my pajama bottoms.

"Well, I'll put my camisole back on, but I'm not getting dressed yet. I'm getting in the shower when I get back."

"Are you going to at least brush your hair?"

I reached up to feel my hair. It felt like a freaking tumbleweed! I must've been tossing and turning in my sleep. I walked over to the mirror to inspect the damage.

"Yes!" I cried. Mason looked at me like I was crazy. "Dude, I have a reflection!" Realization dawned on him.

"That's awesome!"

"I know! I would've been so pissed if I didn't have a reflection, because then how could I do my hair?"

He burst into laughter. "Of course, you'd worry about your hair."

"Well yeah! Speaking of my hair, how are you not laughing at me right now?" My hair looked like a hurricane hit it.

"Well, it's taking all of the restraint I have. I guess I'm amazing."

"Ha. Sure, Mase." I yanked a brush through the gigantic knots, trying to tame the beast. I brushed it until it was completely smooth.

I leaned my face towards the mirror to inspect it. Okay, my eyes are just downright creepy. The red looks completely horrible with the brown! I'll have to get some contact lenses. I opened my mouth, revealing pearly white fangs. I touched the tip of my finger to the sharp point.

"Ouch! Jeez, that's sharp! Ugh, I hate these stupid-ass fangs!" I reached down to pick up my camisole and slip it on.

"Can I feel?"

"Uhhh . . . 'kay?"

He touched the tip of his index finger to one of my fangs, and accidentally pressed too hard, drawing blood. Shit.

He pulled his finger away, but not before I got a little taste.

"Oh God, sorry Sarah! I pressed to hard!" He went to put his finger in his mouth to suck the blood off.

"Wait. Allow me. You taste good. Sorry if that freaks you out."

He looked sceptical. "Can you control yourself?"

"I'll be on my best behaviour."

"Fine. Just the blood on my finger, don't suck any out."

I pulled his finger to my mouth, and licked the blood off with the tip of my tongue. Mmmm, delicious. Way better than the hobo. Unintentionally, my mouth closed, and I sucked a bit more blood out. He tasted amazing; I almost moaned. My eyes closed in content.

_Sarah, what are you doing? Stop drinking his blood! Even if it's just a little! _A voice in my head scolded me. My eyes flew open, and I launched myself across the room.

"Mason, I'm so sorry! That was completely unintentional! I don't know what happened! It's just that your blood, it's so . . . sweet."

"It's okay, Sar. I'm not mad. Just try to be a little more careful, okay?"

"Of course! But, why would I be careful? It's not like we're gonna do this everyday."

"Sarah, look in the mirror."

Confused, I did as he asked, and gasped at my reflection. My eyes were once again a chocolaty brown, and my fangs were gone. I was even a little less pale! "So you're telling me that that little amount of blood did all of this?"

"Yep. How about from now on, I'll give you a tiny bit every day. I'll prick my finger with a needle or something, because honestly, I kind of don't want to be addicted to the endorphins."

"Are you sure about this, Mase? What if I accidentally lose control and take too much?"

"Sarah, I trust you. I know that you'd never be able to hurt me like that."

"If you're okay with it, then I'm game. Mase, do you have any idea how good you taste?"

"Um, no. I think blood is disgusting. It tastes rusty, salty."

"To you. To me, it's sweet. Kind of like a lollipop, or something like that. I can't place it; it's unique. You taste way better than that hobo from last night . . ."

"Wow. The taste of blood from a vampire's point of view. It's nice to finally know what's so good about blood to them."

I took a bow. "Glad to be of service."

"Well, since I gave you blood, you have to give me something."

"And what would that be, Gingy?"

He rolled his eyes. "A kiss."

"Well, if I absolutely have to . . ." I stood on my tiptoes, so that I could be perfectly level with his mouth. We both leaned in, and our lips met. It started out as sweet, and innocent, but quickly got heated. With my super-speed, I pushed us back to the bed, where I fell on top of him. He was still shirtless, seeing as he hadn't put his wife-beater back on last night before going to sleep. I traced his abs again. He had perfect abs, well toned and muscled. I felt him smile against my lips.

My door flew open. "Sarah, Mason! My eyes! It burns!" Alex yelled.

I rolled off of Mason. "Ever learn to knock?" I growled.

"I forgot! Jeez, I just came to tell you that breakfast is ready! Don't rip my head off over it!" Alex replied.

I rolled my eyes and got up off the bed. "Fine, I'm coming. Mason, put a shirt on. I don't want the other girls drooling at the table."

"Will do." Mason replied. I walked out the door, Alex in tow. I think that he was still trying to recover from his big sister laying on top of her boyfriend, making out with him.

"Mom wants you to go wake your friends up and tell them to come down for breakfast." he declared.

"Okay. Tell her we'll all be down in a few minutes."

"'Kay."

I ran up the stairs to where the bedrooms were. I had the only bedroom on the bottom floor, because it was the biggest and hey, I like my space.

I knocked on Lissa and Christian's door first, because I knew that they'd be easier to wake up then Rose. I shuddered involuntarily; Rose could be pretty scary if you woke her up too early.

I waited a few minutes before hearing a quiet, "Come in." from Lissa. I opened the door. Lissa was sitting up, rubbing her eyes.

"Is Sparky awake? Breakfast is ready."

"No, he's a heavy sleeper."

"Well, then I guess I'll have to wake him up then." I ran over and sat on the bed so fast that Lissa jumped because I basically just appeared in front of her.

"Sorry. I like running fast." I said to her.

"It's okay. That's pretty cool, you know."

"I know. It's like nothing else in the world. And you would think that everything around me would be blurred, but it's like in slow motion, only crazy fast. If that makes any sense at all . . ."

"Yeah, I understand what you're trying to say."

"So, how should I wake him up?"

"Hmm . . . usually a good shake wakes him up."

"Okay." Then I shook his arm.

He groaned. "No." He tried swatting my hand away. I shook him again, and he growled at me.

"I didn't wanna have to do this, but you leave me no choice." I sprang up off the bed and wrenched the curtains open, spilling bright sunlight into the room. He was facing the window, so it shone right in his face.

"Shit!" He hissed. And I mean that he actually hissed at me, like a cat, or Dracula.

I burst out laughing. "Sorry, Count Sparkula. It's time to get up, breakfast is ready."

Lissa laughed so hard at the 'Count Sparkula' comment that she rolled off the bed. Christian just glared at me, and got up out of bed.

"Not a morning person?" I asked.

His only response was a grunt, and the middle finger.

"Well, I'm not a morning person either, but you don't see me complaining about it."

"Sarah, I'm too tired for this. I need some coffee . . ."

"Mom made some. It's down in the kitchen."

He stuck his thumb up, and walked out of the room. Lissa got up off the floor, and started laughing again.

"What a grouch. How do you deal with him?" I asked.

"You get used to his grouchiness. And you need a lot of patience."

"I guess so. Because if I were you, he would get a punch in the face."

"Yeah, you have like, zero patience. Well, I see that you're not affected by the sun."

"What? Oh, yeah. Mason and I tested that. I scared the shit out of him, too."

"How?"

"Well, when I put my hand in the sun, I screamed and pretended that it hurt. He was completely freaking out."

"That's hilarious!"

"I know. He was so pissed when I started laughing!"

"I'll bet he was! He worries so much when it comes to you . . ."

"I know he does! He's gonna go prematurely gray with the way that I'm always hurting myself. Remember when that dog was so freaked out by me that it bit me?"

"Yes! And you had to get six stitches? I swear to God that he was ready to kill that dog." **(A/N: I actually was bitten by a dog, and I did have to get six stitches. I don't recommend it to anyone :P)**

"I know . . . And his face when I started crying? That was horrible."

"It really was. You know, last night, he looked like he wanted to die." She said quietly.

I winced. "Yeah . . . What happened when I was . . . unconscious? Because when I got up, all of the Strigoi were gone."

"Mason went on a rampage. When he saw the Strigoi feeding you its blood, he went ballistic. He broke free from Dimitri and tackled it. He beat it really bad before staking it. And the one that was holding you tried to get him, but he's fast. He staked it faster than anything I've ever seen! The others took care of the rest of the Strigoi."

"Wow. How did Natalee get away?"

"Well, Eddie got to her before the Strigoi drained her. She didn't lose very much blood, because Eddie was quick."

"Good. I wouldn't want this to happen to anyone else."

Lissa's eyes closed, and she took a deep breath. "Why were you sad last night? Other than the obvious reason."

"Well, when I left, I . . . I killed someone. I couldn't control it; something inside of me made me do it."

Lissa's eyes snapped open. "Oh. Well, that would make me sad too."

"Yeah. Sad was an understatement; I was devastated. I couldn't believe that I'd killed an innocent person, and had no control over it. I was scared, Liss. Something dark took over, and it terrified me. What if it happens again?"

"Well, we'll just have to get through it." She paused. "Sarah, you're one of my best friends. We all care about you, and we'll do our best to help you through this. You know that you can talk to me anytime, right?"

I nodded. "I know, Liss. Thanks."

"No problem. I'm hungry, so let's go downstairs."

"I'll be right down. I need to wake Rose up."

Lissa's eyes widened. "Good luck with that."

I laughed. "Thanks. I'll need luck."

Lissa smiled, shook her head, and walked out of the room and down the stairs. I walked over to the room where Rose and Dimitri were staying. I knocked on the door.

"Come in." Dimitri called. I opened the door and walked in, finding Dimitri fully dressed and Rose still asleep under the covers. When he saw it was me, he asked, "Can you _please _help me get her up? Nothing is working!"

"Gladly!" I replied. I jumped up onto the bed and started bouncing, shaking the entire bed. Rose groaned and rolled over.

"Come on, Rose. Don't be so difficult!"

"Go to hell." She mumbled.

"Rose," I said, my voice menacing, "I can and will pull you out of this bed. This can be easy, or this can be hard. It's your choice."

Her only response was a grunt. So I guess she wants to do it the hard way. I ripped the blanket off her feet and grabbed her ankles. She flinched at my cold touch, but didn't move otherwise. In one quick, easy motion, I pulled her out of the bed, and she landed on the floor with a thump.

"Ouch! My head . . ." She murmured, sitting up and rubbing her head.

"Sorry, but you wouldn't get up. Breakfast is ready!"

Rose jumped up from the floor and ran downstairs the moment that the word 'breakfast' left my mouth.

"Thanks for getting her up. I owe you one." Dimitri said.

I shook my head. "No, it's me who owes you. Thank you for keeping Mason back. If you wouldn't have, the outcome might've been worse. And thanks for explaining things to my mom last night."

"It was my pleasure. Even though I may not show it, I've got your back."

I was touched. Antisocial Dimitri actually had my back. "Ditto." Was my only response. "Come on, let's get downstairs. I don't know about you, but I'm starved."

Dimitri chuckled. "You and Rose are so alike, it's funny."

"Well, great minds think alike . . ." I walked over and opened the curtains, letting the light flood into the room. "Let's go."

We walked silently down the stairs and sat down at the breakfast table. I sat next to Mason, who was already dressed. I pecked him on the cheek.

"Hey mom, is the food almost done? I'm starving!" I yelled.

"Almost. Give me five more minutes, and then the bacon will be done. Damn! I burnt myself."

"Are you okay? Are you still able to cook?"

"Yes, I'm fine. It's not like I need any help or anything . . ."

"Okay!"

"Wow. Is the food really all you're concerned about?" Mason asked, probably joking. I knew he was joking, but I was taken over by a sudden fury.

"Are you calling me fat? Nevermind, don't answer that." I stomped on his foot and stormed off to my room, but not before I saw the shocked looks on my friends' faces.

I slammed the door so hard that the doorframe shivered.

I knew I was being irrational, that he was only joking, but I couldn't stop it. Something inside of me was pissed and offended, and it wanted revenge.

I heard the footsteps of Rose, Lissa and Kira coming towards my room. _Take a deep calming breath. _I told myself.

_No._ A dark, creepy sounding voice replied from in my head.

_What the hell? Who is this?_

_It's you. It's the part of you that you won't accept._

_And that is?_

_The Strigoi part._

All of the little color I had left drained from my face. _Get out of my head! You don't belong here!_

_Yes I do. I'll leave for now, but I promise you I will be back._

_No, you won't. Goodbye!_

There was no response from the creepy voice in my head. Instead, there was a timid knock on my door.

"Come in." I struggled to keep my voice even.

The door opened slowly, revealing Rose and Liss.

"Are you okay?" Rose asked calmly.

"Yes. I think. It's just this . . . voice in my head. It's kinda freaking me out. It's like a darkness, a creature. It's evil."

Rose and Lissa exchanged a meaningful glance. I saw Rose nod at Lissa, who walked over and put her hand on me. I realized a little too late what she was doing. She sent her healing energy into me, and I immediately felt better. But the dark creature inside didn't. It snarled and shrieked, making me clutch my head. The pounding was unbearable, and I cried out. Lissa sent more healing energy into me, because she didn't know that she was making it worse. I rolled off the bed, away from her. The pain lessened a little, but not by much.

"Mason . . ." I mumbled. Understanding, Rose ran out to get him.

When he saw me laying on the floor, clutching my head, I saw him start to panic.

"Sarah! Guys, what happened?" he asked frantically. I moaned in pain; my head was pounding and burning at the same time.

It was Lissa who answered him. "I - I don't know. She said that the dark creature in her head was scaring her, so I tried to heal the darkness out of her like I do with Rose. But then she started to scream, and I sent more healing energy into her. I think I made it worse."

Mason crouched down beside me and scooped me up into his arms. The pain was fading - slowly, but still fading - and I buried my face in his chest.

"Sar, are you okay?"

"The creature doesn't like Lissa's magic. She started to scream in my head, and it hurts so bad . . ."

"What creature?"

"The dark one. She was the reason that I freaked out at you. She's evil."

"Sarah, you're starting to scare me. What is the creature?"

"It's the Strigoi part of me. Mase, she scares me. She isn't going to leave me alone."

"Shhhh. Come on, maybe some food will stop the pounding."

I nodded, and Mason helped me to my feet.

"I'm so sorry, Sarah. I had no idea." Lissa said.

"It's okay, Liss. It's not your fault." I replied. We all walked out of my room and into the kitchen. All of the guys were staring oddly at us, but we didn't explain. I was sure that Liss and Rose would later.

I sat down and began piling food on my plate. I grabbed three pancakes, two pieces of french toast, eight pieces of bacon and some scrambled eggs. I smothered everything but the bacon in maple syrup, including the eggs. Before I put syrup on my pancakes and french toast, I spread some butter on them.

Everyone stared at the mountain of food on my plate with wide eyes. I looked at Rose, who had just as much food as I did.

"Hey Rose, wanna have an eating competition?" I asked.

"Sure! What are the stakes?"

"Loser has to buy the winner a large Iced Cappuccino and two doughnuts from Tim Horton's, and they have to something else of the winner's choice."

"You're on."

"3, 2, 1, GO!" I shouted. We dug in to our food, eating as much as possible. We both finished our plates in record time.

"Got any room left? We need to see who wins." Rose said.

I thought about it for a few seconds. "Hell yeah! Let's do this. Grab two more things to eat. It has to be either two pancakes, two pieces of french toast, or one of each. Got it?"

Rose nodded and grabbed a pancake and a piece of french toast. I decided on two pieces of french toast.

"Go!" Rose said. I ate my first piece of french toast easily, but I was getting really full. I tried so hard to finish the second one, but I couldn't. I dropped my fork, signaling my defeat.

"I'm sooooo done. No more." I declared, burping loudly.

"YES!" Rose cried before shoving the last of her second pancake into her mouth.

I pushed my chair away from the table. "I'm going to get a shower."

**How was it? Weird way to end it, I know, but it was the only way. Otherwise it would've dragged on and on . . .**

**OMG HAS ANYONE ELSE READ CITY OF BONES FROM THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS SERIES? I just did yesterday, and OMG I LOVE JACE! He's sooo awesome . . . I have to buy City of Ashes tomorrow or something because I don't wanna wait . . .**

**Okay, who else loves the nickname Count Sparkula? When I was writing it, I nearly died of laughter. I don't even know how I thought of it, but I think it was because of the hiss . . .**

**I wanna get to 30 or 35 reviews before another update.**


	7. Chapter 7

**IMPORTANT A/N. MUST READ.**

Dear Readers:

I'm sososososososososososo sorry, guys! Believe it or not, I'm still grounded cuz my dad is a butthole...I feel so bad because I haven't given you guys anything in over a month! I'm using Old Junker right now just so I can explain...I just feel really really horrible :(

See, if my dad would let me use my netbook for like, two seconds, I would be able to update Together Forever. I have the next chapter done and everything!

But no.

I'm only allowed to use my computer for school related things...And trust me, I've tried looking for it. The man's a genius when it comes to hiding things! (He's the kind of guy that will hide things in the ceiling, or hide it in a really good spot then forget where he even hid it.) Whenever my mom takes my stuff, it's always easy to find (she hides things under pillows and sometimes on top of the fridge.)

If I could see where I left off on my stories, I could continue writing in my binder. Since I can't, I've started a new story (any Mortal Instruments fans out there?), wrote one one-shot (does anyone read Kissed By An Angel?) and a few poems...and I'm gonna write more. Plus, I've started a new original story, completely of my own imagination. Vampires, of course ;)

But yeah...if I could only see where I left off writing on my computer, I could keep writing for my stories that I already have posted. But I've started new chappies for a few and I can't remember what I wrote (-_-).

Again, I'm really really really sorry about not updating in forever...it's hard on me too. I haven't had my netbook or my BlackBerry in over a month, and my iPod Touch was taken from me a few days ago. Now, all I have is my writing binder, a television and supervised computer sessions on Old Junker. (This isn't supervised, I snuck on XD) So trust me when I say that I'm suffering just as much as you guys, and I can't even begin to express how sorry I am. I hope you guys stick with me, because I'm gonna try to get Little Blue (my netbook) back this weekend.

-Sarah

P.S. I'm probably changing my pen name...I don't like it anymore :P I'll post an A/N before I do!

P.P.S. If you have read Kissed By An Angel by Elizabeth Chandler, I wrote a one-shot! Lacey/Tristan, btw :)

P.P.P.S. The new MI fic that I'm working on is AH, and centered around Jace and Clary. I hope you guys will read it when I can post it! :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry, another A/N.**

_**Umm...well, my plans of getting my stuff back this weekend kinda crashed...and burned. I just thought I'd tell you guys that, and also that my penname is no longer vampirelover081, as I'm sure you all clearly see. I'm now . :) as I'm also sure you can all clearly see...lol I'm babbling.**_

_**Make You Feel My Love is the name of my new Mortal Instruments story :D I posted it yesterday, since I'd emailed the first two chapters to a friend back when I still had Little Blue :P I know I can't really ask for anything, but to anyone who reads the series, PLEASE check it out! I have a really good feeling about it!**_

_**And in my spare time, I've started **_**another**_** Mortal Instruments fic :D I dunno why, but my creative juices are really flowing for the series! Not that I'm turning my back on Vampire Academy! I could never do that :O I love all of my fans way too much!**_

_**Once I can post the actual chapters for my stories, I'll delete both author's notes :)**_

_**See ya everybody!**_

_**~. :) or Sarah :P**_

_**P.S. If anyone has any questions about anything, feel free to ask :) I sneak on Old Junker a lot XD just like now :D**_


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